Travel services, such as airlines, buses, trains, boats, and the like often use procedures for checking in passengers prior to departure. For instance, at an airport, a ticket agent for a particular airline may run through a number of different steps, such as checking baggage, offering optional services or upgrades, and collecting payments, for example. At the end of these check-in procedures, a finalization step may be used to complete the check-in transaction. The passenger check-in procedures are often computerized, and may be displayed to ticket agents in a number of different forms, including via a text-based keyboard and command-driven format or via a graphical user interface (GUI) that may typically utilize user input devices such as a keyboard and a mouse for entry of information.
The check-in procedures are often time-sensitive as travel providers want to check in passengers as quickly as possible to avoid long lines or other backups at the point of departure. Highly-skilled, experienced check-in agents can use the text-based keyboard and command-driven interface very quickly and efficiently to check in travel passengers. On the other hand, travel providers also want to provide a high level of service and check-in accuracy for their passengers, even with less-experienced check-in personnel. The GUI format for checking in passengers is often easier and more intuitive, but is traditionally slower than checking passengers in using the text-based approach. These considerations may therefore be at odds, requiring the travel provider to strike a balance between speed and customer service.